Do You Want to Play with Me?
by FanofBellaandEdward
Summary: Celebrating Halloween in a Muggle town isn't exactly something Draco wished for, but he'll make do. A dark haired boy he meets there might even make the evening fun after all. Draco's pov; Halloween fic


**Author's note: My HP Halloween contribution for this year!**

 **No warnings this time: it's Halloween, so just expect some creepy weirdness I guess.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.**

 **I hope you'll like it!**

* * *

 **Do You Want to Play with Me?**

"Are you almost done yet?" Pansy popped her head inside the bathroom, eyeing him impatiently.

"Almost," he huffed, letting the house elf fiddle a bit more with the fake wings on his back. He'd been torn between dressing up as a vampire or a Dark Elf, but in the end he'd chosen the latter after he'd heard Gregory and Vincent would dress up as vampires. He wanted to be original and he could hardly be that if other children were dressed the same way!

Of course in the end it turned out that Gregory and Vincent dressing up as vampires wouldn't matter much. Instead of spending Halloween with his friends, going from door to door in the village he lived in, his father had whisked him and mother away to a completely different town, where the older man apparently had urgent business to complete.

He didn't know what kind of urgent business would bring father to this place – a place filled with nothing but Muggles. What could father possibly want to do in a place completely devoid of magic?

Whatever it was, he'd dismissed Draco whenever he'd asked about it and mainly told him he and mother would join him on the trip and that was final.

The blond boy had resigned himself – albeit sulkily – to not being able to celebrate Halloween like he'd done all these years before, but fortunately mother had, as always, stepped in to still give her son the night he deserved.

Father's urgent business required the presence of Mister Parkinson, Pansy's father, for some reason and mother had managed to convince father to allow Pansy to join them as well. That way Draco and Pansy could go from door to door here in this town and still celebrate Halloween. Granted, without magic it would probably be rather boring and the candy they'd receive would only be of the Muggle variation – and who knew what kind of disgusting things they called candy? – but they would still be celebrating Halloween like always and Draco held on to that thought.

Once his midnight blue wings, ones which glittered faintly in the light and would glow once the moonlight hit them in a certain way, were adjusted perfectly on his back, he stepped away from the house elf. "All right, I'm done!" he announced and Pansy grinned, clapping her hands.

"Come on then! Aunt Cissa is waiting downstairs!"

They rushed downstairs, only slowing down when they reached the landing of the first floor, not wanting either of their parents to catch them racing through the house. Draco's mother was waiting for them at the bottom of the staircase, beautifully dressed in forest green robes. Diamante earrings glittered in her ears and her long blonde hair was curled, cascading down her back like a waterfall.

Gazing calmly at them when they stopped right in front of her, she said, "As you two are nine years old, I hope I can trust you to behave. You are allowed to go without any supervision on three conditions."

Draco swallowed, clasping his hands together. "What are they, mother?"

"You will stick to the streets around this house. You need to be back by nine o'clock at the latest – later than that and you will receive a suitable punishment. The third condition: I want you two to wear these bracelets." She held up two thin silver bracelets. They were plain, no decoration at all, and the metal felt cold when she clasped it around Draco's wrist.

"What does this bracelet do, Aunt Cissa?" Pansy asked curiously, shaking her hand back and forth.

"I charmed it to make certain you'll be back on time," Mother replied, folding her hands in front of her. "As you're not allowed to go too far, fifteen minutes should be sufficient to get back here on time. So by the time it's a quarter to nine, your bracelets will start warming up and you need to turn back immediately. Understood?" Her blue eyes were sharp when she assessed them warningly.

"Understood, mother!" Draco hastened to reassure her, rubbing the bracelet around his right wrist. He knew she and father had had a lot of arguments about Draco still wanting to dress up and celebrate Halloween, so he wasn't planning on disobeying her. Not when she was the reason why he would be able to go out tonight!

"We promise we'll be back on time," Pansy said, adjusting her black cape. Not sharing Draco's qualms, she'd chosen to dress up as a vampire. Her teeth had been magically lengthened slightly until they tapered out into two sharp points and fake blood was smeared around her lips, her throat and splattered across her white blouse. Her skirt was blood red and torn near the edges and she was wearing black boots. She had wanted to colour her eyes blood red too, but her father had drawn the line at that.

"Can we go now?" she asked impatiently.

"Sure, here are your bags," Mother smiled, handing them each a black cotton bag which had a pumpkin and a full moon stitched in silver on the front. "Have fun you two and remember: be back on time and don't go too far!"

"We know!" they chorused before eagerly rushing through the open front door.

Mother had taken them outside earlier today to show them around the streets they were allowed to walk in, so even with dusk settling in, they weren't nervous. The Muggles appeared to like Halloween as much as they did, because almost every house was decorated from top to bottom with fake spiders, carved out pumpkins, fake spiderwebs covering windows, plastic skeletons, stereotypical – and obviously very wrong – depictions of witches riding a broomstick … Some houses had skeletons which moved and laughed evilly, shaking their plastic bones, and figures of witches cackling loudly whenever someone passed by them.

Draco and Pansy weren't the only children roaming the streets dressed up. A lot of children were running around, some in groups, some with their parents, going from door to door, shouting "Trick or treat!" as Muggle adults smiled indulgingly and dropped candy and chocolate in their fake pumpkin baskets.

Neither of them tried interacting with the Muggle children and instead went from door to door, flashing smiles and accepting compliments from the Muggles opening the doors. They cooed over Draco's pretty wings and whistled at Pansy's sharp teeth before dropping pieces of candy in their bags.

* * *

They were at the end of the second street when Draco became aware of something prickling his neck and he turned around, squinting in the darkness. The street ended in some kind of park and the orange light of the streetlamp didn't stretch out all the way to the entrance of it. Evening had fully settled in now and the sky was dark, lit up by some stars and a full moon. The wind was acting up more now, cold brushes against their cheeks as it played with the dead leaves on the ground.

"Pansy, do you see anything there?" he whispered; grey eyes swivelling back and forth across the dark border of the park. He felt like he was being watched and the creepy sensation had him shivering slightly, his shoulders tense underneath his shimmery dark green shirt. Suddenly he wasn't so sure anymore whether he wanted to be here outside on his own.

Pansy turned around, peering into the darkness too. Sucking her lip between her teeth, she said slowly, "N-no, I don't see anything. You're just imagining it. Halloween spirit getting too much?" She aimed to tease, but her smile was weak and wavered, her voice wobbling slightly.

"Let's – let's go to another street," he muttered, wanting to get away from this creepy place as soon as possible.

"Yeah, sure," she nodded rapidly, clenching the handles of her bag tighter.

They turned around and screamed when they came face to face with a dark haired boy. There was blood around his nose, his green eyes surrounded by dark bruises and his neck was mottled with bruises, the pale skin hidden underneath the purple and dark green splotches. There was something white sticking out the side of his neck, covered in blood and his entire torso was wrapped up in bandages, dirty with blood and earth. Realistically looking cuts peeked through the gaps in the bandages.

The boy grinned, rocking back and forth. "Like my costume?" He winked. His glasses were crooked, one of the glasses shattered, and his black hair was wild, sticking out to every side as if he had been hit by lightning.

"You startled us!" Pansy snapped, stamping her foot. "What are you supposed to be anyway? And where did you come from?"

Unperturbed by her anger, the boy kept smiling. "I'm a zombie of course!" he chirped and pointed at the park. "And I came from there. Some kids stole my glasses and dropped them there so I had to get them back."

He looked to be a couple of years younger than them and Draco cocked his head to the left, wondering where the boy's parents were. "What's your name?" he asked curiously.

"I'm Harry! What're your names? And what are you supposed to be?" Harry questioned, trailing closer as he stared at Draco's wings.

"I'm Pansy," she introduced herself, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm Draco and I'm a Dark Elf," Draco said.

"A Dark Elf, hm? Never heard of that costume before," Harry said thoughtfully before his eyes dropped to the candy bags in their hands. "You got a lot of candy?"

"Half a bag full," Pansy replied. "Where are your parents? Aren't you too young to be here on your own?"

"Where are your parents?" Harry shot back. "Aren't you too young to be here alone too?"

She started grinning. "I think I like you," she declared, making Draco stare at her bemused.

He never would understand how her mind worked. How could she just decide to like somebody when she didn't even know that person that long yet?

"You're weird," Harry told her solemnly and this time Draco grinned.

Anyone who could tell Pansy that straight to her face was something he thought he could like – even if the boy was a Muggle.

"Don't you have any candy?" In spite of the great costume – Harry really looked like an actual zombie with the wounds and the bruises and the dirt plastered across his clothes – Draco saw that he wasn't carrying any bag.

Harry grimaced, swinging his arms back and forth. "I'm not allowed to have candy, so I just walk around in my costume," he muttered, sounding subdued.

Draco shared a look with Pansy. "Do you want to go around the houses with us?" he suggested hesitatingly. "We could give you some of our candy. You could eat it before you go home."

He thought it was rather weird that Harry's parents would let him walk around dressed in a costume but didn't want him eating candy. What was the point of Halloween then?!

"Really?" Green eyes widened and started glittering; a wide smile spreading across his face.

"Yeah, why not?" Pansy shrugged. "It'll be fun, come on!"

"Yes, thank you! I never walked with other children before!" Harry beamed, falling into step with them as they made their way back to the beginning of the street so they could go to the next one.

Draco smirked, offering the boy a piece of chocolate. "Well, then we just have to show you how a real Halloween night is supposed to go, no?"

Harry's blinding smile, even with his face caked in fake blood and bruises, radiated in the dark street.

* * *

Their breath escaped them in small white clouds when they stopped walking. They had gone by a lot of houses so far and Draco's and Pansy's bags were bulging with candy, nearly overflowing. They had been sharing with Harry, but even with giving part of their candy away, they still had a lot left.

The street they were in now was rather deserted, and not many houses were actually decorated. Some windows had light shining through them, shadows moving behind the curtains.

The wind was rougher now, the evening having grown colder, and Draco's feet were starting to ache a bit from all the walking he'd done so far.

"This is fun!" Harry exclaimed happily, munching on a candy bar Pansy had just pressed into his hand.

"Yeah, but my feet are starting to hurt," Pansy huffed, pouting down at her boots.

"Mine too," Draco agreed begrudgingly.

Harry tilted his head to the left. "I live here in the street. Do you want to come with me? We can play at my home!" he suggested enthusiastically.

"I'd like to, but we're not supposed to go too far away," Draco said, biting down on his lip.

Harry had turned out to be quite fun to be around with, despite him being obviously younger, and honestly he was curious as to what kind of toys a Muggle child had. He'd probably never see Harry again after this night, so playing a bit with him would be a last fun thing to do.

"Well, you're not that far away, right?" Harry pointed out, blinking owlishly. "My home's down this street! Please? It'll be fun!"

"Come on, Draco, it's not like we're that far away," Pansy joined in, playing with the edge of her cape. "Besides, I really want to sit down for a bit."

"Fine," Draco gave in. "We can go play with you for a bit, but then we have to go back before mother gets worried."

"Yay! It's going to be lots of fun, I promise!" Harry cheered and whirled around, guiding the two deeper into the street.

This far down, the noises of the other children in the surrounding streets died out, leaving only the whistling of the wind and Draco shivered, wishing he'd thought to put on a cape as well, if only because it would give him an extra layer. Dark Elves didn't wear capes or robes, though, and he'd wanted to be as authentic as possible.

When they approached a house with the number four plastered next to the front door, its windows completely dark, Draco started when he felt a sudden flash of warmth around his right wrist. Looking down he pushed back his sleeve and saw his bracelet glowing faintly.

He inhaled sharply when he remembered mother's words and he tugged at Pansy's sleeve, making her halt. "Pansy, we need to go."

"What, why – oh." Her mouth formed a round shape when she looked down at her hand, probably feeling the warmth around her wrist too. Her face fell instantly. "Ah, do we have to?"

Harry turned around confused. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, Harry, but we need to go. We have to go back home now," Draco told him, feeling oddly guilty when the boy's face fell, every last trace of happiness drained away immediately.

"Aw, do you really have to? Can't you stay for a little while longer?" Harry pleaded; his green eyes wide and begging. "This is my house, can't we please play for a bit longer? I've never had friends come over to play."

Pansy glanced at Draco. "Look, can't we stay for a bit longer? We still have fifteen minutes! Aunt Cissa won't have to know."

"You know I can't lie to mother, she always knows, Pansy," he complained, wrinkling his nose. "I don't want to make her angry."

"And we won't," she reassured him. "We'll be back before our time's up."

"Please, Draco?" Harry stared at him, his lower lip wobbling and he looked close to tears.

Those tearful eyes tugged at something in Draco's chest, but after hesitating for a moment, he shook his head and took a step back. "No, I'm really sorry, Harry, but my mother will get mad if we don't go back now."

"But I want to play with you," Harry said in a small voice.

"I want to play with you too, Harry, but we really can't stay," Draco said softly.

Pansy snorted, crossing her arms. " _You_ can go if you want to, but I'm going to stay for a bit longer," she told him with a sniff.

"Pansy, mother said we have to be - "

"Yeah, yeah, and I'll be back on time, but now I'm going to play with Harry first. You do what you want," she replied flippantly and grinned at Harry. "Come on, let's go. Draco is too much of a sissy to stay longer." She winked and the blond glared at her.

"You're going to get into trouble," he warned her.

She stuck out her tongue and walked up to the front door. "No, I won't. I'll be back on time. Come on, Harry!"

For a moment Harry just stared at Draco, his eyes unnervingly blank and empty, and then he blinked. "Okay, er, bye, Draco," he muttered and trotted up to the front door.

The last thing Draco saw before the front door closed behind them was Pansy smirking at him and waving.

And green eyes glowing unearthly in the light of the full moon.

* * *

He was awoken from his deep sleep by someone shaking his shoulder.

"Draco, sweetheart, I need you to wake up now."

The urgency in mother's voice had his eyes flying open and he sat up, confused and disoriented. "Mother?"

"Draco, I need you to tell me where the house is that the boy took you and Pansy to," Mother said tersely.

Father and Mister Parkinson were lingering in the doorway; father's face utterly blank while Mister Parkinson was frowning, looking upset.

"Wh-why? What's wrong?" Draco asked alarmed; his heart starting to beat quicker.

Mother hadn't been happy when he'd shown up alone last night, even less happier when he'd told her that Pansy had stayed behind to play in the house of their Muggle friend. She'd ordered him to go to bed, reassuring him he'd been good to listen to her, but that she'd have a word with Pansy once she was back.

Why did she need to know where Harry's house was now?

"Pansy – she didn't come home last night and we've tried several spells, but we can't find her," Mother explained and only now did he spot the light bags underneath her eyes. Had she even slept at all?

Wait, hold on. Pansy hadn't come back? They couldn't even find her with spells? How was that even possible?

"You can't find her?" he asked aghast. Why hadn't Pansy come home last night? Had she stayed the night with Harry? Why would she do that when she knew she had to be back before nine o'clock?

"No, we can't. Something seems to be blocking our magic, so I need you to tell us what the address is," Mother said, looking ghostly pale underneath the weak morning light.

"I – I don't know the address, but I can walk there," Draco said, nausea twisting his stomach.

"Good enough for me, let's go," Mister Parkinson said impatiently. "I want my daughter back before we leave this place."

* * *

After a quick breakfast where Draco barely managed to choke down a slice of toast, they set out, the adults following Draco as he used his memory to return to Harry's street.

"We went in this street," he said, recognising the place because of the lack of Halloween decoration.

In broad daylight, he spotted the street name, having missed it the night before: _Privet Drive_.

Jittery with nerves, he hurried deeper into the street; mother, father and Mister Parkinson following closely behind.

"Lucius, this is where our spells rebounded," Mother murmured behind him and Draco's stomach cramped.

This was just an ordinary Muggle street – what could possibly stop the adults' magic from finding Pansy? Only very strong wards were able to do that and they wouldn't be present in a Muggle street.

"Yes, it is, but as far as I know there aren't any wizards or witches here," Father replied lowly; his cane tapping rhythmically on the pavement.

"Here it is!" Draco exclaimed, coming to an abrupt halt in front of Privet Drive number four.

Just like last night there weren't any lights on in the house and he furrowed his eyebrows. Was Harry's family still asleep?

It was weird, but standing here in front of the house he couldn't help but think how _empty_ the place looked. The front garden was unkempt, weed worming its way through the tiles, and paint was peeling off the front door – had it been this way last night too?

Unease settled into the pit of his stomach and he swallowed, staring at the building. For some reason he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong with the house. What could be wrong with it, though? Was it just because of the lack of magic in this place?

"Are you sure it's this house, Draco?" Mister Parkinson asked, frowning when he studied the house.

"Yeah, I'm sure. He asked if we wanted to play with him for a bit longer and brought us here," Draco answered, wrapping his arms around himself. Should he just ring the doorbell?

"Excuse me? Are you here for the house?"

One of the neighbours, a woman still dressed in a thick, pale yellow bathrobe and with her dark brown hair done up in a messy ponytail, stepped outside, coming over to stand at the fence. Her light brown eyes switching from father to mother to Mister Parkinson before landing on Draco, curiosity alight in them.

"No, we're actually here to ask Harry something, the boy who lives here," Mother explained with a thin smile. Her blonde hair glinted when she took a step closer, her hand landing on Draco's shoulder.

"Harry? Oh you mean Harry Potter?" the woman asked bemused.

 _Harry Potter?_ A shock went through Draco's body and mother's hand squeezed his shoulder firmly at the mention of the name. Harry Potter was a name everyone in the Wizarding World knew, no matter how old or how young one was. He'd been barely one when he had defeated the greatest Dark Wizard of all time, Lord Voldemort. Nobody knew what had happened that faithful Halloween night, but Lord Voldemort had entered the house of the Potters and in the end he vanished, leaving the building in shambles, Lily and James Potter dead and little Harry Potter alive, gaining the nickname " _The Boy Who Lived_ ".

The baby had been whisked away by Dumbledore and hidden somewhere in the Muggle world; not even the Minister himself knew where the Boy Who Lived had been placed.

But the Harry Draco had met last night couldn't possibly be the same Harry Potter who'd defeated the Dark Lord! Potter was supposed to be the same age as him and the boy he'd met last night had looked younger. Not to mention, how couldn't Harry have ever heard of Dark Elves if he was indeed Harry Potter? He was as magical as Draco was!

However now that he thought about it … He'd seen some pictures of baby Harry Potter before in history books, and the photos had all shown a shaggy black haired boy with piercing green eyes – just like the boy he'd met last night.

Could Harry be _the_ Harry Potter after all?

"Yes, we do. Our son is a friend of him and we wanted to see him before we leave town," Father said smoothly, smiling affably.

"You're about three years too late then," the neighbour said, shaking her head. She grew sombre, her gaze flitting towards the house for a moment before she looked away with a grimace.

"What do you mean by that?" Mister Parkinson asked suspiciously. "Did they move?"

Draco opened his mouth to say that wasn't possible, because Harry had brought them to this house, but mother's warning look had him closing his mouth again.

The woman bit down on her lip and seemed to debate about something, turning her head back and forth as if she wanted to check whether anyone else was listening. She stepped closer until the wooden fence was digging into her waist and pursed her lips.

"Look, I'm not exactly sure what happened during that night three years ago, but I can tell you the rumours. If you knew that little boy, you deserve to know what happened to him," she muttered, sounding wearily.

"What happened?" Mother stilled; her face as blank as that of a statue.

"They say – there are rumours going around that the Dursleys, they're the ones who lived here before you know, that they mistreated Harry," the woman started, a pinched look on her face. "We all saw him with bruises on his arms sometimes, but Petunia – that's his aunt – just waved it off as him and her son roughhousing around and well, it's not like we had real proof, right?" She shifted uncomfortably, flipping her ponytail over her shoulder when the wind whipped it in her face.

 _Harry was being abused?_

"Three years ago, on Halloween, I won't forget that night, some ambulances suddenly appeared in front of their house," she went on, crossing her arms tightly. "Everyone came out to look, of course, because it's not like things like that happen here often and we saw – they brought Harry outside."

Her breath left her in a shuddering exhale and she wiped a hand across her eyes. "His aunt told us that he'd fallen off the stairs, but let me tell you this: all those injuries? Yeah, impossible that they just came from a tumble down the stairs. His whole face was bruised, even his glasses broken,"

 _Pale skin mottled by bruises, covering his face, his neck and his arms. Glasses sitting crooked on his nose, broken …_

"his neck was broken,"

 _Something white jutting out from his neck, covered in blood; his throat a mass of green and black and blue and rusty red brown …_

"and he had these large cuts on his chest as if he'd fallen straight through glass."

 _Chest wrapped in dirty bandages, open cuts flashing through the gaps in the bandages, blood seeping through the white cloth …_

"Of course nobody believed that Harry had just fallen down the stairs, but there was nothing anyone of us could do." The woman shrugged helplessly, sniffing and dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. "He died that same night and a couple of days later the family packed up and left. We haven't seen them since."

She shook her head sadly, staring unseeingly at the house. "I still can't believe they hurt that little boy. He was always so sweet when I talked to him, but so painfully shy too. I wish I'd reacted sooner, but you always think, what if I'm wrong? I'm sorry that you had to hear it like this."

Ringing filled Draco's ears, drowning out the rest of what the Muggle woman was saying. His breath was shallow, something squeezing around his chest, making breathing harder.

 _Harry was dead? He'd died three years ago?_

But he and Pansy had talked to him just the night before! They had walked around with him and had even shared their candy with him!

On the night … of … Halloween …

The night Harry Potter had been murdered.

Where was Pansy now? Where had she gone to? Why hadn't she come home?

If Harry was dead, then just who – or _what_ – had they talked to last night?

Draco knew only one thing: something sinister had taken place last night. He had escaped on time, while Pansy …

Halloween would never be the same again.

 **The End**

* * *

 **AN2: I hope this was sufficiently creepy/weird/Halloweenish enough for this holiday! Happy Halloween everyone! Be wary of realistic costumes ...**

 **Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.**

 **I hope to see you all back in my future stories!**

 **Cuddles**

 **Melissa**

 **P.S. For more information about my upcoming and posted stories, please visit my profile.**


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